


A Boring Movie

by Arisprite, username_goes_here



Series: Yuuko Ichihara’s Hitsuzen: Four Star Restaurant and Bar [6]
Category: xxxHoLic
Genre: DTR, M/M, Using metaphor to attempt to talk about feelings, ish, it sort of works
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-04
Updated: 2015-07-04
Packaged: 2018-04-07 14:03:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4265988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arisprite/pseuds/Arisprite, https://archiveofourown.org/users/username_goes_here/pseuds/username_goes_here
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Doumeki was an annoying bastard, Watanuki was pretty sure. They certainly weren’t dating. Not at all. They were just… something.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Boring Movie

Doumeki was an annoying bastard, Watanuki was pretty sure.

The guy was always around (Watanuki allowed it), he continued asking him on dates (Watanuki accepted), and demanded food (that Watanuki gave freely), and it was damn annoying (not really).  


It stopped becoming a you-pick-I-pick thing too. They’d just… go out. Like it was expected. Routine. An actual thing they did naturally. And to be honest… it _did_ feel natural. Spending time with Doumeki, talking to him, talking _at_ him, arguing, not arguing, doing nothing, etc etc. It was weird and comfortable and Watanuki Did Not Like It.

Probably. He _shouldn’t_ like it. Never had before. And besides, Watanuki _hated_ this guy.

...Dammit, he didn’t. But he was still so resistant to it all, which frustrated him more. It was an odd mix of emotions, because on the one hand he wanted to spend time with Doumeki, but on the other hand he was sick of being riled up by the jerk.

So Watanuki kept going with it, even though it was objectionable. Spent time with him and went on dates and invited him over. Hell, they were practically going steady at this point.

Which was ridiculous, of course. They certainly weren’t dating. Not at all. They were just… something.

But what? Well now, that was the question. And a stupid question. They weren’t friends, obviously, but if they were dating… then they’d be dating, of course. What did that entail though? Going out on dates, he supposed. Which they did. Often.

Rather often.

Far too often to be anything other than dating.

Were they… dating? Watanuki hadn’t gone on dates with anyone in at least a year, and hadn’t actually _dated_ anyone in far longer, and had decided not to, so… how did this end up happening?

Then again… it wasn’t like anything was happening. They went on dates and did things and spent about as much time together as people who dated might potentially do, but… it wasn’t like they did anything else. Doumeki had kissed him on the cheek once, but nothing since then. Now, Watanuki hadn’t really ever been fond of kissing people. Not that he disliked it. It just never seemed to feel like anything. More something to do because the other person was doing it.

But whatever. This wasn’t about _kissing_. This was about… something. Watanuki wasn’t sure what. He was just… there. And so was Doumeki. They were both just there, and it was actually getting annoying.

Watanuki didn’t know where they stood, relationship-wise, and wasn’t sure where he wanted to stand, or even where Doumeki wanted to stand at this point.

And… for once, Watanuki sort of cared about it.

He found himself on this now-familiar train of thought one night as they sat on the couch, watching a particularly boring movie after a shift that was far too busy for both of them. It was uninteresting and unengaging and he was losing himself to annoying thoughts of the annoying guy sitting next to him.

And he was sick of it, so he decided to just get it over with.

“I don’t like this movie at all,” he said. It was the first thing that came to mind.

Doumeki turned to look at him, but Watanuki kept his eyes on the screen.

“We could watch something else,” Doumeki offered.

Watanuki considered it, and tried to figure out how to segue this into his actual problem.

“I… want to know what happens though. You know, you get invested in something, and you just want to know what happens?” He paused there, frowning. “Maybe it’ll be a good movie if I let it play out for once. Maybe I don’t hate it. Maybe I care.”

Doumeki turned back to the movie, also frowning.

“You’re invested in this?” he asked.

“Maybe,” Watanuki corrected slowly, decidedly not talking about the movie, but _obviously_ still talking about the movie. “I could be. I don’t know. The movie… hasn’t really done much, but it could.”

There was silence as Doumeki glanced at him again.

“Are you still talking about the movie?” he finally asked.

“Of course,” Watanuki insisted with a scoff, then rubbed the back of his head. “I don’t know.” With a sigh, he pulled his feet up on the couch and turned his body to face Doumeki straight-on, but couldn’t think of any words to say that didn’t start with insults, and that just seemed like maybe not the best way to start a real conversation. Honestly, maybe it wasn’t the best conversation to have right then anyways? But he’d already started it.

Doumeki turned again to face him better, and lifted a brow before breaking the unsettling silence.

“Are… you okay?”

“You don’t seem interested in the movie either,” Watanuki said. “I’m not _sure_ I like it, but I think I don’t _not_ like it and I want to keep watching it for some inane reason, and you’re just sort of… there.”

Doumeki turned more fully, bringing his leg up on the couch, and looking intently at Watanuki.

“By movie you mean…” Doumeki trailed off, and swallowed, leaving his sentence hanging. He had some sort of expression on his face. It was hard to read, but if Watanuki were to take a guess, he’d maybe label it as ‘thinking.’ Or ‘being stupid and avoiding questions.’ One or the other.

“By movie, I mean the movie. I think I want to watch it and see what happens. Do you?” he asked, impatient because the more time passed, the more invested and curious he became, though he wasn’t sure what it was he was looking for one way or the other, and-

God, this was so frustrating.

Doumeki didn’t respond. At least not verbally. Instead, after an unbearably long moment, he reached out, placing his hand on the side of Watanuki’s face.

Watanuki felt a small shiver go through him - which was stupid - but before he could protest, Doumeki leaned forward and put his lips against Watanuki’s. Gently, and with the barest pressure, but still. A kiss.

A kiss. Oh god, a _kiss_.

Watanuki felt his face go red as his stomach did an odd and completely uncalled-for flip, and then Doumeki pulled back.

“Yeah,” he said, finally answering, and his hand was still on Watanuki’s cheek, which was _not_ helping the whole situation.

Watanuki’s eyes were wide and his pulse was a beat too fast and Doumeki was blushing slightly, which was actually funny because it was _Doumeki_ and-

Wait.

“Oh my god, that is not, that is not what I meant,” Watanuki said, panicked at the thought that he might have… actually… not hated what just happened. But it was so quick that he couldn’t _quite_ be sure one way or the other. He didn’t like kissing or dating or anything like that, so he could have been imagining whatever okay and not-apathetic feeling he may or may not have had.

Doumeki had some sort of look on his face as he leaned back, but only barely, which was obviously not what Watanuki was going for right then. Not that he wanted him to lean forward! He just wanted him to go away (did he?).

“What? What is that look?” Watanuki asked suddenly. “You’re, you’re making a face.”

“Can I do that again?” Doumeki asked, pushing his thumb along Watanuki’s cheekbone.

Watanuki stumbled over his words for a moment.

Did he want Doumeki to do that again? Watanuki wasn’t sure. No one had ever really asked Watanuki before. He didn’t know what to say.

He supposed the question was… Did he enjoy that kiss? Really, that kiss hadn’t been all that much, so there really wasn’t anyway to tell if he wanted more or not.

“Fine,” he decided, and closed his eyes tight in anticipation.

Doumeki tilted Watanuki’s chin - probably to angle a bit better - then pressed his lips to Watanuki’s again. It was quick and chaste and inexperienced, but…

Well.

Watanuki had kissed a few people in the past, one or two in particular. He remembered not being terribly fond of it. He did it though. He kissed and held hands because that’s what you’re supposed to do in a relationship, but he was just going through the motions. Never actually felt much of anything. It was just, lips touching. That was all. Lips that shouldn’t touch, coming together in an odd display of a closeness he didn’t feel.

But this time, here, on the couch, with Doumeki… it was different. It was like a little surge in his chest and a floaty feeling in his stomach that he hadn’t ever felt previously. Like there was an emotion between his lips and Doumeki’s, and when they touched, it came together to make something.

Which sounded ridiculous and felt weird and Watanuki wasn’t sure if it was something he particularly enjoyed, but when Doumeki pulled back, Watanuki followed because that’s where his lips were right then, so apparently he didn’t _hate_ it, and didn’t feel nothing.

But he only followed for a moment, then pulled back because this was _Doumeki_ , whom he hated (liked?).

Doumeki was still blushing - ridiculous - and his lips quirked on the side - probably an attempt at a smile? - as he brushed his thumb over Watanuki’s cheek one more time, then lowered his hand.

“Well fine then,” Watanuki said, flustered but not letting that get the better of him! “Kissing. On the table.”

He turned back to the movie, suppressing his blush (though he wasn’t the only one), and was immediately annoyed at the screen.

“Oh god, no, I do hate this movie. And I mean the movie. I’m turning it off.” He scrambled off the couch - the company was objectionable anyways - to get to the DVD player and put something else in. No more weird movie recommendations from coworkers.

“Sounds good,” said Doumeki from the couch, and Watanuki had half a mind to dismiss the smug bastard right on the spot.

 

~~~

The next day, they were both scheduled at the same time, which happened a surprising amount lately. They arrived at the staff entrance door at almost the same time, and Doumeki gave him a little wave as Watanuki came closer, holding the door open for him. 

“Oi,” he greeted. Watanuki hadn’t told him the time his shift started, or he would have given him a ride.

“That’s not my name,” Watanuki replied, walking quickly through the door. “I think my bike has a flat tire. What time are you off?”

Watanuki went into to the staff area, with Doumeki trailing after. 

“I think I’m scheduled until eight,” he said, moving over to check the schedule hanging on the wall. It had everyone’s printed out, for the whole week. Since it was a Monday, they were new, so he also wanted to check what the rest of the week would look like. 

Watanuki joined Doumeki at the schedule to inspect it. He frowned, humming. 

“I might need a ride,” he said, looking grumpy. “Apparently, you’re the only one who gets off at eight with me. There’s a bus I can take, but if I can save myself the cost…” 

Watanuki always brought up rides, and asked him semi-politely, as if Doumeki didn’t offer nearly every time they both got off. It was beginning to be a habit - one that Doumeki certainly didn’t mind. 

“Fine,” Doumeki said. “Dinner after?” 

Watanuki turned his face away, frowning at the floor. “I’ve gotta pay you for gas somehow,” he said. 

Doumeki opened a locker, and stuck his bag in, before reaching for Watanuki’s. 

“It’s okay,” Doumeki said

Watanuki pouted, letting Doumeki take the bag, and close the locker door. Watanuki had gotten fed up with his leaving off any sort of lock, and insisted on them sharing a week ago. Since then, Doumeki had been enjoying the habit. 

“Equal trade. You do something, I do something. It’s fair.” 

“I like driving you,” Doumeki said. Watanuki breathed out, some sort of frustration running across his face, that Doumeki hadn’t been expecting. 

“Whatever,” he said, leaning against the wall. Doumeki turned, and frowned at that. 

“What’s the matter?” he asked. 

“ _Nothing_ is the matter. Why would you think something’s the matter?” 

Watanuki looked testy, and Doumeki wondered what had happened to upset him. Probably something that he’d done, but he had no idea what it could have been. He tended to upset Watanuki for some reason, though it didn’t lessen the frequency of the times they spent together. Doumeki eased his own frown, and shrugged it off. Watanuki was just unfathomable sometimes - he was getting used to it. 

Himawari passed them both on the way out to the restaurant, heading towards the staff room for a break, most likely. She smiled brightly at both of them. 

“Hi, Watanuki, Doumeki! How are you both doing?” 

Watanuki returned her smile, laughing a bit. 

“Ah, Himawari! Fine. Fine, we’re both fine,” he said, a little too quickly to be the truth. “I have to start my shift. Sorry, Himawari, we’ll talk later, okay?” With that, he ran off to his station. 

Doumeki watched him go with a little frown, and then turned back to Himawari. She was watching where Watanuki had gone, seeming a little confused, and if Himawari was confused, who’d known him for years, Doumeki gave up hope of understanding. 

“How’s it going,” Doumeki half asked, since he didn’t want to be rude.

“Oh, I’m well,” she said, turning back to Doumeki with a smile. “I was out late last night, so I’m a little tired. How was your night? You and Watanuki have a nice time?” 

Doumeki blinked in surprise, not expecting her to know that. She wasn’t gossiping though, he knew. After she’d accidentally crashed their date, she seemed to just assume that they were together in the evenings. It was often true. 

“Uh, good,” Doumeki answered, remembering his and Watanuki’s conversation, and those kisses… he felt himself turn a bit red and hoped he was near enough to the warm kitchen to pass it off. “We watched a movie.” Sort of.

“Oh?” Himawari said, looking interested. “What movie?” 

“Uh,” Doumeki didn’t remember. It was boring, and then after that… well, he’d thought that Watanuki needed a little processing time, and he had as well, so they’d called it a night. “I don’t remember the title. It was boring, though…. What did you do?” 

Himawari’s face shadowed a bit. “I went on a date. It was fun, but I don’t think I’ll go out with him again,” she said. 

“Oh?” Doumeki asked, but she shrugged and didn’t elaborate. Doumeki then remembered that he still needed to clock in and actually start working, so he waved, and moved off, letting her take her break in peace. 

~~~

The afternoon dragged on, despite it being busy (one of the worst kind of days, but at least it kept him occupied) but it slowed down enough that he didn’t feel bad taking a quick water break.

He was only in the staff room for a moment before Doumeki showed up again, the stupid bastard.

“Phew,” he said, leaning against the wall next to Watanuki. “Busy.”

Watanuki nodded, and groaned. “I can’t even tell you how many annoying ‘special orders’ I’ve had today. They’re worse than you. Picky eaters. It’s ridiculous.” He sighed, then straightened up and put a fist in his palm. “But if I can’t cater to them, then what sort of chef am I? I’ll do everything in my power to make their food delicious and by the time I’m done here, Hitsuzen will be a five-star restaurant!” He paused. “At least on yelp.”

Doumeki’s lips quirked in that attempt of a smile he did sometimes. “Good luck with that,” he said, then started leaning in, presumably to kiss him, based on the angle and expression and Watanuki was not having any of it.

Watanuki ducked down to avoid whatever kiss Doumeki was trying to give him, - though it had looked like he was only going for the cheek, but still! - and ran around behind him before popping back up.

“What the hell are you doing?” he demanded, looking around to see if anyone saw, though it seemed people hadn’t been paying any attention up until he’d yelled.

Although, he wasn’t entirely sure why he was so concerned. He had dated people before, and he’d held hands with them and they kissed him on the the cheek and sometimes even the lips - all in public - and Watanuki didn’t say anything. But suddenly, Doumeki wants to kiss him, and Watanuki had been okay with it last night (had actually enjoyed it, damn that asshole), but in public… Watanuki didn’t want to. Didn’t want to be on display like that, he supposed. To have everyone look and see and know. Which… didn’t make much sense, but Watanuki was just uncomfortable with it, and Doumeki would have to deal with it.

Doumeki froze, and was quiet a brief moment before speaking. “Sorry,” he said. “That’s not okay?”

“No,” Watanuki told him decidedly, waving for everyone to get back to their damn jobs. “No, it’s not. N- not here. In public. With everyone. Why- why would you, god, whatever!” He threw his hands in the air and got back to work, embarrassed at the whole debacle.

Why, why did Doumeki think it was okay to just, just kiss him like that at _work_? Sure, Watanuki _had_ said it was on the table, but not out in public! Now Watanuki was mortified and Doumeki probably thought Watanuki was mad at _him_ specifically, even though he was, but not, not like _that_ , well maybe, but also he didn’t wan-

“Watanuki?”

“Oh my god!” Watanuki yelled as he jumped in the air.

“Oh, I’m sorry, did I scare you?” Himawari asked, taking a step back.

“Ahh, no, no, no, it’s fine. I was just… cooking, is all,” he said waving it off.

“Mm. I see,” she said, leaning over to look at his unusually messy work station. “You okay?”

“I’m fine! Of course I’m fine.”

“No one saw what Doumeki did, you know,” she said with a slight frown.

“Wh- what?” Watanuki found himself red-faced and stammering in the most unpleasant way.

“Just me, but that’s because I was looking for Doumeki specifically,” she explained, setting Watanuki at ease, if only barely. “He had a table to clean.”

“Idiot, slacking off,” Watanuki scoffed.

Himawari laughed slightly. “Not really.” She paused, probably waiting for Watanuki to explain, but he wasn’t about to explain. “Are you mad at him?”

“Yes. Yes I am. It was uncalled for,” he said petulantly.

“Maybe you should tell him then?” she suggested. “So he knows.”

“Fine.”

“Good,” Himawari said. “You two are good together.”

“We are nooooot,” he complained as she walked away with a giggle.

The last of his shift was spent trying not to think, and vaguely succeeding because it ended up being far too busy to even try _to_ think. But the moment he was done, he remembered that he was riding home with Doumeki, and he’d mentioned dinner, and so they’d have to _talk_.

He cleaned his station quickly and efficiently - nothing less - and waited by the lockers with his and Doumeki’s bags.

It wasn’t long before Doumeki showed up, looking a bit more awkward than he usually did. Like he didn’t know where to put his feet.

“Hey,” he said. “Ready?”

“Yep,” Watanuki said shortly, holding out Doumeki’s bag for him to take.

Doumeki took it, and Watanuki led the way out the doors and to the bike rack. He kneeled down and began fiddling with his bike lock, trying to figure out what to say. They were alone out there, and there wasn’t anyone else to hear the conversation and a car ride would just be awful if it was awkward so he just spat it out.

“Not in public,” he said flatly. “That’s all. Just… not in public.”

There was a beat of silence before Doumeki responded with a simple, “Okay.”

That was easy. Watanuki had expected a protest, to be honest.

“Oh,” he said, finally getting the lock off and turning around to face Doumeki. “Okay.”

Doumeki frowned, which set Watanuki slightly on-edge. Like Doumeki wasn’t comfortable and maybe Watanuki should figure out a compromise or something.

“Whatever you’re comfortable with,” Doumeki said then, moving past him and to the car, beeping it open and holding the back seat door open for the bike,

Or maybe he really was fine. He was just going to… let Watanuki set the pace for this? No one had really done that before... it was. Well, it was different. Nice? Something.

“Alright then.”

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter begins to make clearer some backstory for Watanuki's romantic history that may not be what anyone was expecting, including us. Not to reveal anything, but rest assured it will all make sense in the end.


End file.
